Payer

A new Sept. 21 Kaiser Family Foundation report provides a backdrop for congressional conversations on expanding Medicare benefits to include dental, vision and hearing. 

A new HHS Office of Inspector General report details that 20 insurers received about half of a $9.2 billion pool of suspicious Medicare payments made over the course of a year. 

In an effort to combat bias in healthcare, Blue Shield of California is teaming up with tennis champion and activist Venus Williams on a new campaign titled "Hear Me."

The Washington, D.C., branch of the NAACP and the Health Alliance Network filed a complaint to the HHS Office for Civil Rights regarding tension between MedStar Health, insurers and government. 

Pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts is launching a new feature for its 70 million users to record, review and show proof of COVID-19 vaccination in-app. 

Kaiser Permanente is facing backlash for how its insurance plans cover mental healthcare, receiving complaints from members, therapists and the American Psychological Association, according to NBC 7 San Diego. 

Cigna renewed its contract with Edison, N.J.-based Hackensack Meridian Health, maintaining that the system's 17 hospitals and 500 facilities remain in-network for members.

Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah and Intermountain Healthcare partnered to launch Preferred Blue Option, a new preferred provider organization. 

Mary Hsieh, PharmD, will be helming Mass Advantage as its first CEO, UMass Memorial Health Care announced Sept. 20. 

Centene subsidiary Superior HealthPlan launched Choose Tomorrow, its new suicide prevention initiative, on Sept. 20.